Chapter 13: Her Lover, the Deceiver

Zhen Yan had made four dishes and a soup: steamed spare ribs, braised fish, hot and sour potato shreds with pickled peppers, stir-fried seasonal greens, and tomato egg drop soup.

Watching Zhen Yan bustle in and out of the kitchen carrying dishes, Jia Hua suddenly recalled the same sight on Jia Hui’s birthday.

Jia Hua immediately followed suit. Once all the dishes were on the table, she was the first to go and scoop three bowls of rice to bring out.

Grandma Zhen was very pleased. The old Jia Hua, when eating at their house, would just sit at the table and wait for her rice to be served. After eating, she’d dust off her bottom and go watch TV or play on her phone. She’d never proactively helped serve rice like this. Huahua seemed much more sensible now than before.

Grandma Zhen smiled, looking at Zhen Yan and Jia Hua sitting next to each other across the table. Her eyes narrowed into happy slits.

The food was utterly delicious!

The first bite made Jia Hua feel like her taste buds were receiving the ultimate satisfaction!

So fragrant, so delicious! The spare ribs were amazing, and the potatoes were incredible!!

Jia Hua ate two bowls of rice in a row. Under Grandma Zhen’s astonished gaze, she didn’t have the nerve to ask for a third. She swallowed, looking down at her empty bowl—not a grain of rice left. But her bottom seemed glued to the dining chair, and she simply wouldn’t leave the table.

Jia Hua: Not full yet… I still want to eat…

Grandma Zhen and Zhen Yan had both finished eating. Zhen Yan glanced sideways at Jia Hua, who was next to her, staring longingly at her empty bowl. She then looked at Grandma Zhen, whose smile was directed at Jia Hua. A faint smile tugging at her lips, Zhen Yan said, “Grandma, on my way back just now, Grandma Li downstairs said to tell you: after lunch, go find her. She has something to talk to you about.”

“Oh, is that so?” Grandma Zhen stood up. “Well then, Huahua, Grandma will head down now. You have fun at home. There’s fruit and milk in the fridge—help yourself if you’re hungry or thirsty. Treat this place like your own home, don’t be shy.”

Jia Hua looked up and smiled. “Okay, I won’t be polite. Grandma Zhen, let me help you downstairs.”

Grandma Zhen waved a hand. “No need, my body’s still strong. You two kids have fun at home. You can turn on the TV or listen to some music.” Having said that, Grandma Zhen left, going downstairs to find her old friend, Grandma Li.

“There’s still rice in the rice cooker,” Zhen Yan said flatly after the sound of the door closing.

Jia Hua, who had been rooted to her chair, immediately jumped up and briskly walked into the kitchen. She took a larger bowl from the dish cabinet and started serving herself rice.

She’d realized it: the bowls they’d used before were too small. She should have used the big one from the start.

After scooping half a bowl for herself, Jia Hua turned and asked Zhen Yan, a little embarrassed, “Do you want more? If not, can I finish the rest?”

Zhen Yan: “…” I cooked enough for two meals, and you want to finish it all?

“Go ahead. Eat your fill,” Zhen Yan said, helpless.

“Then I won’t hold back.” Jia Hua grinned and scooped every last grain from the rice cooker into her bowl, filling it to the brim.

No longer needing to mind Grandma Zhen’s eyes, Jia Hua wolfed down the food right in front of Zhen Yan, sweeping the table clean of dishes. All except one—the braised fish. Jia Hua hadn’t touched it with her chopsticks even once.

Zhen Yan glanced at the bowl of braised fish, her eyelids lowering. A dark light flickered in her eyes. She then asked, as if casually, “You don’t like this braised fish?”

Jia Hua, probably full now, didn’t overthink it. She answered honestly, “It’s not that I don’t like it. I just can’t pick out the bones, so I don’t really love eating fish.” She hesitated before adding, “Um… can I come eat at your place again?”

Jia Hua had now discovered Zhen Yan’s culinary achievements. How could she easily let slip this opportunity to enjoy delicious food again?

Zhen Yan looked at Jia Hua silently, assessing the truth of her earlier statement. Concluding it was true, the corner of her mouth slightly quirked up. “I can’t afford to feed you.”

Jia Hua felt a bit embarrassed. Her appetite was indeed a tad bigger than most. But she still fought for the cause: “What if I bring my own rice, dishes, oil, and salt? It doesn’t have to be every day… just on days when my moms aren’t home…”

A starving ghost wants not only to be full, but to eat well.

Please, let this person who starved to death in her last life have good food!

Zhen Yan’s eyes held a smile, but her expression was very calm. “You like my cooking?”

Jia Hua nodded frantically, giving Zhen Yan a thumbs-up. “Top-notch flavor!”

“Then… alright.” Zhen Yan agreed, hesitating slightly.

Jia Hua’s eyes instantly lit up.

Before leaving, Jia Hua asked once more if Zhen Yan needed to go to the hospital.

“I’ll go with you. Don’t force yourself. Manager Qin said he’d cover the medical bills anyway. It’s better to get checked.”

“No need. I really am fine,” Zhen Yan refused.

“Alright,” Jia Hua shrugged, hands in her pockets. “Then I’ll go home and study. Bye.”

“Wait—” Hearing Jia Hua was going home to study, Zhen Yan called her back. Seeing her turn around with a puzzled expression, Zhen Yan said, “Wait here a moment.” She rushed into her room and quickly came out with three notebooks. “Here, take these to read. Just return them when you’re done.”

Jia Hua raised an eyebrow, taking them and flipping one open. “What are these?”

“You’ll see when you look. Bye!” Ears flushed red, Zhen Yan shut the door with a bang.

Standing outside the door, Jia Hua casually flipped through one. It was filled with Zhen Yan’s meticulous notes, very detailed. She smiled toward the door. “Thanks.” Clutching the three notebooks, she went downstairs and headed home.

After Jia Hua left, Zhen Yan sat on the worn-out sofa. Once her heartbeat calmed, she suddenly let out a small laugh.

Jia Hua’s favorite braised fish—she hadn’t eaten a single bite. Yet the potato shreds, which she supposedly hated, she ate with great relish.

Between these two facts…

Zhen Yan closed her eyes and leaned back on the sofa, recalling all of Jia Hua’s recent anomalies. She felt that Jia Hua was hiding a huge secret, an earth-shattering mystery.

—

After a day and a half of hard studying at home, Jia Hua, on Monday morning, resolutely refused the large suitcase Jia Hui and Song Qiaoyi had prepared for her. She took out only a set of pajamas and a change of clothes. Then gathering her identification papers, she stuffed everything into her pink backpack and sprinted off, ignoring the shouting behind her.

Frightening! She had actually seen a pillow and a blanket in the suitcase. She’d heard it was the pillow and blanket from her childhood. And also heard that she’d absolutely have to take them on any overnight trip, or else she couldn’t sleep.

Jia Hua: …Thanks, but the original owner needed them, not me. Such a pain to carry! Isn’t it better to travel light?

Traveling light, Jia Hua once again “coincidentally” bumped into Zhen Yan at the steamed bun shop, who happened to be buying breakfast and was equally traveling light. Following their usual habit, one large and one small bag of breakfast in hand, they headed to school.

On the way, Zhen Yan asked curiously, “Where’s your suitcase?”

Jia Hua was shocked. “How did you know I had a suitcase prepared?”

Zhen Yan was speechless. “…On previous school trips, when have I not been the one carrying your luggage?”

Jia Hua: “…It’s only two days, one night. No need to bring so much stuff.” The original owner’s memories were too chaotic; she didn’t even like looking through them.

When they got to school, they discovered it was bustling with noise. The usually empty campus was brimming with the laughter and chatter of Senior Grade students. The ground floor of the teaching building was crammed with suitcases, big and small—an intimidating sight.

Weaving through countless suitcases, they finally made it to Senior 3 Class 1. Many people had already arrived. A multitude of male, female, Alpha, Beta, and Omega students had changed into their most handsome, pretty, and charming outfits and hairstyles. The classroom was filled with a mix of perfume and the scent of Alpha or Omega pheromone suppressants, assaulting their nostrils.

Had these people gone mad? Were they going to a matchmaking event? Some people’s clothes were actually glittering! And someone brought a masquerade ball mask! This was getting ridiculous.

Just as they sat down, Zhang Juan rushed over. First, she gave Jia Hua a respectful nod, then turned to look at Zhen Yan as if she’d seen an alien.

Zhang Juan: “Sister Yan, do you know what we’re doing today? We’re going on a trip! A rare trip! What’s with the tracksuit? Sure, just showing your face is enough to make a whole bunch of Omegas faint at your feet, but you could at least spruce up a bit!”

Zhang Juan tugged mischievously at her own black, slim-fit, youthful-style blazer, raising an eyebrow. “On this trip, my popularity might just surpass yours!”

Zhen Yan rolled her eyes at Zhang Juan. “What’s up with your clothes?”

Zhang Juan clicked her tongue, turned to the left. Only then did Zhen Yan see that the right side of her blazer was largely empty space, revealing the black T-shirt she wore underneath.

Zhang Juan lifted the hem of her inner black T-shirt with a cheeky grin, rolling it up. “When we have free time later, I’ll take off this black T-shirt, revealing my sexy abs. Bound to charm quite a few Omegas. As long as one is willing to date me, I’ve hit the jackpot!”

Zhen Yan reached out to stop Zhang Juan from rolling up her shirt. Under Zhang Juan’s puzzled gaze, she uttered three words with utter seriousness: “You’re so extra.”

Zhang Juan: “…Sexy! It’s sexy!! Not extra!!”

Watching from the side, Jia Hua was laughing so hard she nearly doubled over, her brows and eyes curved beautifully.

The entire Senior Grade was in a state of high excitement. Each Homeroom Teacher entered their classrooms multiple times before discipline was barely stabilized.

When the school-wide announcement came to go downstairs, Senior 3 Class 1 was the first to head to the open-air plaza and board the outermost tour bus.

The bus the school rented had sixty seats. Since two students from Senior 3 Class 2 weren’t coming, the thirty students from Class 1 plus the twenty-eight from Class 2, along with both Homeroom Teachers, totaled exactly sixty people. Thus, the teachers and students of Class 1 and Class 2 shared one bus.

As the saying goes, when enemies meet, eyes blaze with hate. The originally lively, chatty bus from Class 1 fell dead silent the moment the Class 2 students boarded. The two sides glared at each other, neither willing to back down.

As for the covert deadly rivalry and conflict between the two classes, Jia Hua was completely unaware. She got drowsy as soon as she got on the bus. Jia Hui and Song Qiaoyi had fussed in her room for half the night, so she hadn’t slept well. Leaning against the window, she fell asleep.

Zhen Yan, sitting beside her, noticed Jia Hua was sound asleep. Gently, she rested Jia Hua’s head on her own shoulder.

The driver was driving somewhat aggressively. Jia Hua’s head had been knocking against the window with loud “thumps.” She might have a headache for a while upon waking.

In her drowsy, half-awake state, Jia Hua realized almost everyone on the bus was asleep. Even Zhen Yan next to her was motionless, leaning back in her seat, dead to the world.

In the quiet bus, the voice of the An City news anchor on the radio was especially clear: “…The night before last, a fire suddenly broke out at a nursing home in Li City, resulting in multiple fatalities. The cause of the fire is still unclear, and police are working hard to gather evidence…”

Amidst the broadcaster’s voice, Jia Hua fell back asleep. By the time Zhen Yan shook her awake, they were almost at their destination, the Top Scholar Resort.

Jia Hua propped her hand against the window and gazed out at the rural scenery. She felt her mood visibly lift. It seemed a good environment really could improve one’s spirits.

The bus soon entered the Top Scholar Resort and stopped in front of the hotel the school had booked. After getting off, Jia Hua looked around and noticed a nursing home not far from the hotel. Curious, she said, “Look, there’s actually a nursing home in this resort.”

Zhen Yan glanced that way and pressed her fingers against her temples. “It’s always been there. This nursing home has been around for many years; it’s quite well-known. The environment here is great, very suitable for retirement. I heard many elderly people want to get into this place.”

Jia Hua shouldered her backpack and walked into the hotel, laughing as she went. “When I have money, when I’m old, I definitely won’t live in a nursing home. I want to live in a five-star hotel, eat delicious cuisine made by master chefs from all over every day! …Oh, right, when do we have lunch today? I’m so hungry…”

Zhen Yan: “…”

How does this person’s conversation inevitably turn to food within three sentences?